Bulls

Rose’s Buzzer Beater Gives Bulls 106-104 Win Over Bucks

Derrick Rose #1 of the Chicago Bulls shoots the game-winning shot against Brandon Jennings #3 of the Milwaukee Bucks on March 7, 2012 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Derrick Rose drilled a long jumper at the buzzer, powering the Chicago Bulls to a 106-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

Holding the ball for the last shot in a tie game, Rose pulled up just inside the 3-point line and hit it just as time expired. Rose was mobbed by his teammates near halfcourt, and cheered wildly by a predominantly pro-Bulls crowd.

Rose scored 30 and Joakim Noah added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won eight straight.

Ersan Ilyasova had a career-high 32 points and Drew Gooden added a season-high 27 for the Bucks, who were coming off a home win over Philadelphia on Monday.

The Bulls held Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings to 11 points on 4 for 18 shooting. Jennings had scored 27-plus points in his previous three games coming into Wednesday.

The Bulls have won all four meetings with the Bucks this season.

With the game tied at 95, Noah scored on a tip-in. Jennings missed on the other end and Rose got out on the fast break, beating a pair of defenders for an acrobatic layup and a 99-95 lead with 2:33 left.

Gooden hit a jumper to cut the lead back to two, but Luol Deng hit a 3-pointer.

Milwaukee’s Beno Udrih got to the line, but hit only one of two free throws to cut the lead to four. After a Rose miss, another foul sent Udrih back to the line and he hit both to cut the lead to two.

Rose then lost the ball out of bounds, and officials initially ruled it went off a Bucks player. After a replay review, the call was reversed and the ball went to the Bucks with 55.2 seconds left.

Udrih then drove for a layup, tying the game with 42.9 seconds left.

Rose drove on Jennings, then tried to hit a turnaround jumper – and drew a foul on Jennings and hit both shots for a 104-102 lead with 32.5 left.

Ilyasova scored on a putback, tying the game again with 24 seconds left and setting the stage for Rose’s last-second shot.

Once again, the Bradley Center was taken over by Bulls fans – although Chicago’s home-away-from-home-court advantage wasn’t quite as pronounced as it was in the Bulls’ Feb. 4 victory at Milwaukee, a Saturday night game that drew a sellout crowd comprised mostly of Bulls fans.

Still, the Bucks received a jarring greeting when they took the floor before the game – mostly boos – and the crowd was decidedly pro-Bulls most of the game. When Milwaukee’s Mike Dunleavy Jr. missed badly in the second quarter, he was subjected to “Airball!” chants.

The Bulls led 55-50 at halftime, limiting Jennings to two points on 0-for-5 shooting in the first half. With the Bulls often double-teaming Jennings on defense, Gooden was left open for several outside shots – and he cashed in, scoring 16 first-half points to keep the Bucks in the game.

Rose had 14 points in the first half.

Jennings finally hit his first field goal, a driving layup, with 5:06 left in the third quarter. After an alley-oop dunk by Larry Sanders from Udrih, the Bucks went into the fourth quarter tied at 73.

Notes: The Bulls were without guards Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson because of injuries. Hamilton has a right shoulder injury, while Watson has a left ankle sprain. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game that both injuries are being evaluated on a day-to-day basis. … The Bucks were without defensive ace Luc Richard Mbah a Moute because of a right knee injury, and Udrih played despite left knee soreness. Stephen Jackson continues to sit out with hamstring soreness, and no timeline has been established for his return.